


Selfish

by Sorahoshi159



Category: One Piece
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 06:52:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15455730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorahoshi159/pseuds/Sorahoshi159
Summary: Everyone believed Yasopp was a selfish man. Leaving behind his wife and his kid for the life of piracy.What they don't know, is that Yasopp wasn't the selfish one.





	Selfish

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and thank you for coming to check out my story! 
> 
> I don't have much to really say in terms of how I've written this, it was just a thought I had.
> 
> Before you head on off, the timeline of this fic is during the two year time skip where the strawhats were scattered around. Going off a popular fan theory that Makino's child is Shank's as well, I assumed the Red Haired Pirates had gone to East Blue at least once during the time skip.
> 
> I obviously own nothing of One Piece and this whole story came out of my own head so none of it is really canon.
> 
> Well then, enjoy.

"… You guys didn’t have to come with me." Yasopp scowled at the three men sharing the small boat he was on. By "didn’t have to" he really meant "why did you come you fucking jackasses."

"I was bored." Shanks claimed like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I came to make sure Boss doesn’t do anything stupid." Benn answered, also as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I came to eat the East Blue specialties again." Lucky Roo claimed with that ever present smile on his face.

Yasopp never wanted to punch them more than he did at the moment. "Y’all should have stayed at Dawn!" He exclaimed, leaning his elbow on the railing of their little boat.

"Come on! Don’t be like that." Shanks coaxed. "I’ve been meaning to give my respect towards your wife. I _am_ the man who took away her husband before death even parted you both." He claimed and reached up his head reflexively, only to remember that he didn’t have the hat. It’s been almost eleven years since he gave it away, and yet he still couldn’t get rid of the habit.

Yasopp stared at Shanks before scoffing. "What are you talkin’ about. You ain’t the one who took me from her, moron." He claimed, confusing his three shipmates.

"Oh-" Lucky Roo thought he knew the reason. "Right, right. The Pirate Flag was calling your name." He repeated the catchphrase Yasopp loved to give out every time they get drunk and he starts his story.

"Darn right it was!" Yasopp claimed huffing, though he turned solemn pretty quick, staring off into the wide blue ocean. "… But that’s not what took me from her. Nothin’ really took me away from my lovin’ wife." He explained.

"What do you mean?" Benn inquired, Shanks and Lucky Roo got quiet, the expression on their friend’s face was something they only see rarely.

Yasopp stared at them before looking back out to the ocean. "Guess I never told anyone of you." He mumbled a little absentminded. "I guess it’s as good of a time as any…"

"… That was the night before I left Syrup Village and Gecko Island… I spent the day teachin’ my cute son how to shoot with that slin’ shot of his. I made that promise that never came true, and I tucked him in… That was when Banchina called me out of the house to talk. I thought she was worried, ‘cus she barely knew you, Shanks. But I already decided." Yasopp started the story.

Off in the horizon, he could already see Gecko Islands.

* * *

_Yasopp closed the door to their small house. Making sure the clicking noise was as soft as he could possibly make it. “Heh. Usopp tuckered himself out with his energy today.” he spoke as he turned to his wife, whom he saw sitting on the grass and gazing up at the sky._

_“Did he now?” Banchina asked as she continued to gaze up at the stars with a small smile. Her skin was pale from the sickness she had, but her distant eyes were still as beautiful as the time he first met her.  That long nose of her’s was pointed to the sky along with her gaze. He still remembered how the village kids used to bully her over it, but Yasopp always thought it was one of her charm points. He was happy that Usopp inherited her long nose._

_“You should’ve seen him Banchina. He shot three bull’s eye in a row.” Yasopp spoke fondly, taking a seat next to her, one knee up to rest his arm on. “Dare I say, give him time and he’ll be better than even me.” he chuckled._

_Banchina just nodded. “He’ll grow bigger, faster than you can blink…” she mumbled._

_Yasopp nodded and sighed. “I’ll be missin’ out on that. The next time I come here to see him, he’ll be taller. Maybe a head taller… Maybe then I’d have found somethin’ to help you, and then I can-”_

_“Yasopp.”_

_“Hm?” Yasopp hummed as he turned to look at his loving wife, a smile on his face. When he saw her serious gaze though, his smile disappeared._

_“... Don’t-”_

* * *

"YASOPP!”

The group of four men stopped in their tracks as they had just entered the village, only to be faced with an angry mob.

The man who interrupted Yasopp’s story glared at the sniper. “Here I thought, Ninjin, Tamanegi, and Piiman were all just spoutin’ nonsense! So you’re the pirate they were yellin’ about!” yelled a village man, he slightly elderly with graying hair and small stands of healthy black scattering about.

“Devid.” Yasopp regarded with a grin. “Wow! It’s been so lon’, you’re old, old man!” he claimed.

The man identified as Devid scowled, his veins growing visible from how angry he looked. “What right do you think you’ve got to be struttin’ your ugly ass through the village path!” he demanded.

“What right? This _is_ my home village. The place I was born and raised.” Yasopp claimed, smirking despite the angry glares he was receiving from the mob. “I’m pretty sure I could visit it anytime I want.”

“After what you did to your wife? To your poor son?!” a woman of the village asked, a broom held tightly within her grasp. “You think you can just come here and think you’ve done anythin’ to be proud of?!” she shrieked and came at him, broom raised high to strike at him.

Yasopp watched her, moving aside to avoid the hit, startling her enough to make her lose balance.

Benn was the one who caught the woman before she fell onto the dirt path. “Really?” he asked the sniper.

“Sorry. Couldn’t have her destroy the bouquet and bottle.” Yasopp explained with a shrug, the two items in his hands. He wasn’t entirely a gentleman, and the only woman he loved was his wife.

“Get him!” Devid yelled, causing the other villagers to come at Yasopp.

Yasopp turned and continued to walk down the road, making sure to avoid each and every one of the villagers. Ducking down sows and jumping over brooms, he continued to do so until he got past all of them. “Sorry! I’ve got no time to be dealin’ with your anger! Maybe later!” Yasopp said and continued to walk down the road towards the outskirts.

“Wha…?” the woman from before muttered just as Benn picked up her broom and gave it back to her.

“Good day.” Shanks greeted them as he, Benn, and Lucky Roo went to catch up to Yasopp. “Man, they hated you.” he chuckled at his friend.

“They’ve got every right to.” Yasopp claimed with a roll of his eyes.

“Why didn’t you just go around the village then?” Lucky Roo asked, teeth still knawing at a piece of meat.

“Idiot! What kind of man would go around his home village just ‘cus he’s hated by everyone there.” Yasopp huffed at Lucky Roo.

“Well said.” Shanks laughed.

“So. The continuation of the story?” Benn asked, more curious about the rest of the story rather than Yasopp’s view of manliness.

“Right… I was gettin’ to the part where she was lookin’ at me all serious.” Yasopp sighed and went on with the story.

“I’ve been married to her for the last ten years by then… Nothin’ could’ve prepared me for what she told me.

* * *

_“... Don’t come back to this village.” Yasopp couldn’t help but gape at the words that left his wife’s mouth._

_“Don’t come back to this- What are you sayin’ Banchina!” he couldn’t help but yell out, getting up to his feet from the shock he felt. “This is my home! This is where my family is! Where you and Usopp are!”_

_Banchina just nodded. “Even then. I don’t want you to come back to this village.” she told him, slowly getting up to her feet, her illness preventing her from suddenly standing up, like her husband did. “Not for me. Not for Usopp. Don’t come back for either of us. Just go out to sea and live that life you’ve always dreamed of!” she told him._

_Yasopp felt cold sweat on the back of his neck. “I don’t understand…” he muttered. “I promised our son that I’d come back for him and you! It was a man’s promise! You tellin’ a man to_ **_lie_ ** _to his own son-?!”_

_“You didn’t lie to him Yasopp!” Banchina yelled back as best she could. “You didn’t lie to him.” she mumbled. “I heard you promise to him. ‘When your mother get’s better, I’ll come and pick you both up.’ We both know that’s not a promise you- or any man in this world could keep. Not with the illness I have.” she reasoned, only to suddenly hunch over and start coughing into her hand._

_“Banchina!” Yasopp called out in concern as he hovered over her. “Y-you’re wrong. I’m goin’ out to sea! There are better doctors out there in this huge ocean! There’s gunna be someone out there who can cure you! You just gutta wait for me-”_

_“How long do you expect me to wait for you, Yasopp? A week? A month? A whole year?” Banchina asked, looking up at her husband once her coughing fit calmed down. “I know my own body… I don’t have that much time to wait…” she told him._

_“So please… Don’t waste your freedom for my sake. Don’t waste your time looking for a doctor. Live the life you want. Go on your adventure.” Banchina begged._

_Yasopp found his words stuck in his throat, but he forced them out. “... What about Usopp? What’ll happen to him if you die?” he asked._

_Banchina smiled. “He’ll be alone.” she answered matter-of-factly._

* * *

“She sounds cold-blooded.” Shanks mumbled, only for Benn and Lucky Roo to smack him behind the head.

Yasopp just laughed, not offended in the least. “Yeah? I thought the same way too, but she was still the love of my life. If you only saw her that monday mornin’, cradlin’ our pride-and-joy in her arms, singin’ a sweet tune, you’d know she ain’t as cold as she seems.” he mumbled as they neared a graveyard.

“She loved Usopp more than anythin’, and she knew him best… She knew him best.” Yasopp mumbled.

* * *

 

_“He’ll be alone… But he’s strong.” Banchina claimed, a smile on her face. “He’ll cry and be lonely… But he’ll stand up and start drawing on people’s houses again soon. He’s energetic, and lively. He’s a man and also a dreamer. Just like you are.” her gaze once again went up to the sky._

_“But he’s so small… you expect him to fend for himself?” Yasopp couldn’t help but ask._

_“He’s got the whole village Yasopp.” Banchina answered. “And once he’s old enough, he’ll set out to sea with companions he can forever trust. Sure, they may squabble and argue... That boy is so stubborn and sentimental, his own emotions are so strong, he’d stop thinking about the more important things. He’ll make wrong choices out of trusting his feelings, but that’s fine, because that’s just part of growing up.”_

_“You and I both know, no one in this world is born to be alone. He’ll meet them someday, we can’t be in the way of that. Not even you.”_

_Yasopp stared at her, only to turn away from her, biting his lower lip, his shoulders shook as he tried not to cry._

_His own_ **_wife_ ** _was telling him to just completely abandon them. How the hell does she expect him to just agree to this?_

_“Yasopp?” Soft warm arms wrapped themselves around his torso, enveloping him in a warm hug. He could feel her lean herself onto his lanky back, squeezing him gently. “... I always loved seeing your back figure… You always looked so cool and brave with your back so straight, looking off into the great distance with a gaze that could pierce the sun itself… If you respect my wishes, then you’ll let this back of yours be my last memory of you. You’ve given me everything… It’s time I give you back what’s yours… If you love me, you’ll never return.”_

_Yasopp bit his lower lip harder. “... I love you…” was all he could utter._

_Banchina smiled. “I love you too…” she whispered, tears falling from her own eyes. “Go on… The pirate flag is calling you.”_

_“Yeah…!”_

* * *

_"Bye Dad! Make sure you tell me everything about your adventures!” Usopp called out, a big smile on his face. Banchina stood behind him on the cliff, her hands on his shoulders to ensure Usopp didn’t fell off the edge._

_Yasopp raised his hand into the air, not once turning around._

_And Banchina watched him, tears once again gathering in her eyes as she silently sent him off. She didn’t need to say any words of goodbye, because she didn’t want that to be the last, even if she knew that it was._

_“... You’re not going to look at them? Might be a long time ‘till you get to see them again.” Shanks said as he looked at the small family._

_“This is fine…” Yasopp explained, a smile on his face._

_Shanks blinked as he stared at Yasopp. “... You say that but you’re crying a river.” he claimed._

_Yasopp continued to smile, despite how he was, indeed, crying a river. “This is fine…” he claimed, waiting until they were out of view._

* * *

 

“She was the one who decided everythin’ for me.” Yasopp revealed as he finished his story. “It wasn’t you, or the flag, or anyone… The villagers may hate me, and even my own kid might hate me… But I did it for her.” he explained as he finally stopped by a grave. It was a simple grave with a cross tomb stone, above a plate on the ground.

_Here Lies_

_Banchina_

_xxxx ~ xxxx_

_Loving wife, and mother._

The name of his wife was engraved onto the stone.

“So that was what happened…” Shanks muttered, his voice more solemn as he watched his friend kneel down to place the bouquet in front of the grave.

Yasopp caressed the stone plate, before looking up at the finely crafted cross tombstone. His expression unreadable as he continued to stare. “... There was so many times where I wanted to come back. So many nights wishin’ I had my family with me. So many days I counted, wonderin’ if she was still alive…” he mumbled and took out a piece of paper from inside his coat.

It was a wanted poster of Sogeking. There was no real way of knowing who the man in the mask was, but there was no way Yasopp would not recognize him as Usopp. The nose, that nose that was so similar to Banchina’s, was a dead giveaway.

“Once I saw this wanted poster, I knew Banchina died…” Yasopp explained. “There was no way this boy would just leave his sick mother and go out into sea. He’s more stubborn than I am.” he chuckled a little and propped the poster against the cross.

“You see that, Banchina? You were right. That boy went out into the sea, got a big ol’ bounty for a man coming from East Blue.” Yasopp spoke to the stone, getting out the wrapped bottle he brought along. “Look here. I also got you your favorite wine.” he claimed and unwrapped it.

“Rose wine?” Benn asked with a raised eyebrow, almost seeming to scowl at the choice.

“Heh- yeah.” Yasopp chuckled a little. “She loved the stuff. Every time I take her out on a date, this was what she drank. I couldn’t stomach the floral taste, but she said it tasted “elegant” to her.”

Things once again grew quiet as Yasopp stared at the stone with her name. He couldn’t help but imagine her smiling face, how happy she always got when he brought home this particular brand of wine.

God, he wanted to see her smile.

“... You know.” Yasopp started, catching the attention of his friends. “A lot of people probably thinks I’m the selfish person in this story… But the selfish one out of us? It’s her.” he claimed.

“She decided what wine we’d drink every time we had a date. Decided what job I had to work to support us. She even decided where our wedding should be held.” he mumbled, his voice choking half-way as tears gathered in his eyes. “She even decided she didn’t want me at her death-bed…!” He tried to hide his pathetic tears behind his hand.

Shanks watched Yasopp cry, his gaze going over to the stone tablet before he walked over and took a seat next to the sniper.

“Boss…?” Yasopp questioned as he looked at Shanks.

Shanks didn’t say anything, before he grinned. “Hey there, Mrs. Banchina. It’s me. The captain that took your husband out to sea.” he said, reintroducing himself. “Not sure if you remember me, but did you know that your husband got shot in the stomach ten times once?”

“Hey...”

“Oh, and there was this one time he was being chased by this giant snake we found in an island, man you should have heard him screaming his lungs out!”

“Hey.”

“I remember that!” Lucky Roo claimed, a grin on his face. “Didn’t he grab a vine and swung at it screaming “for my wife!!!” only to miss and hit his face on a tree trunk?” he asked, Benn laughed as he remembered that grand adventure.

“Right! There was also that time when some lady tried to flirt with him, and he backed off so hard he fell into a canal!” Shanks revealed and bellowed in laughter.

“Don’t forget that time he tried to tackle a Hippo-Rhino.” Benn added. “I’m pretty sure he only ended up shitting himself.”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL TELLIN’ MY WIFE!!!” Yasopp yelled out angrily as the three laughed.

“We’re telling her all the great times we had with you!” Shanks revealed. “All the adventures. We finally got to meet her again, we got to tell her everything she missed out!”

“Doesn’t mean you can all just blabber about my embarrassin’ moments!” Yasopp huffed.

Shanks laughed before smiling. “They may have been embarrassing, but those are the moments that wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t around.” he said.

Yasopp blinked, staring at Shanks. “... Huh?” he asked.

Shanks leaned back a little, using his one hand to keep himself somewhat upright. He gazed up at the stars, counting them for a second before he spoke again. “... Maybe none of those things would have happened, if she didn’t do what she had to do.” he claimed.

“Maybe if you were so focused on finding some miracle cure to your wife’s illness, or frequently going back to your son’s side, we wouldn’t be able to talk about those memories fondly.” by this point, Benn and Lucky Roo took to sitting behind them, keeping silent to allow their captain to talk to their sniper.

“There was so many times where we needed you, and you were right there. Times where we could only laugh because you were there. Heck, there were times where I’d be dead if you weren’t with me at that time.” Shanks recounted before he looked back to Yasopp. “Your wife let you go so you could have those moments. So that you could live however you want without burden, so that we could create these memories to tell her. If she didn’t let you go, the four of us wouldn’t be sitting here laughing and speaking to her!” he claimed.

Yasopp continued to stare at Shanks, only to realize that he was right. Scoffing, he turned away from his captain and looked off into the sky. “... Maybe you’re right. There’s so many things that might have changed… There are even some things that I want to change.” he chuckled.

“Do you regret it?” Benn asked, knowing he didn’t have to specify what he meant.

Yasopp laughed. “Fuck no!” he claimed. “I haven’t done anything I regret.” he claimed.

“Then that’s fine isn’t it?” Shanks laughed. “Oh- We gotta tell her about that monster that looked like a treasure chest!” Shanks claimed.

“You mean the one that bit Yasopp’s butt?” Lucky Roo asked.

“STOP TELLIN’ HER THOSE STUPID SHIT!” Yasopp yelled, causing Shanks and Benn to howl in laughter.

The night went on as they recounted events that Yasopp went through. The heroic ones, the sad ones, but mostly the funny ones. They continued to talk and laugh and yell at each other as the sky turned orange and the stars started to peek out. By then, they began recounting each others’ embarrassing memories.

But, if they had the ability to see, they would have been able to see Banchina sitting in front of them, a serene and content smile on her face.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Funny story I have to tell you, I never planned on posting this story, but I apparently made two of my friends cry when I showed them this fic, and they demanded I post it online, and well, here we are.
> 
> I have nothing else to really add to this, it was just a fun little thing I decided to write. I had the idea while I was at work, and I just wanted to get it down before I forget. 
> 
> A part of me thinks I could have done the ending better, but maybe I'll revisit this again sometime.
> 
> Well then, if you liked my fic, don't forget to leave a kudos, if you have something to say, don't be afraid to give me a comment. Thank you all, and I bid you all adieu.


End file.
